María Ólafsdóttir to Vienna for Iceland!

Hey guys! So there we have it, after a fantastic show in Reykjavík, we know that María Ólafsdóttir will represent Iceland in Vienna on the 21st of May with her song “Unbroken”! So what do we think of the song, and how it will do in Eurovision? Keep reading to find out, as we delve into the Icelandic capital for Söngvakeppnin! Here is the Icelandic entry for Eurovision 2015!

So what do we think of the song? Well for starters, either Friðrik or María would have been great choices for Austria, as both artists have fantastic voices and the audience really seemed to like both songs, so either song would get a favourable reception as they take to the stage in May. The song is quite an uptempo ballad, but the vocals María delivers with it, along with the performance; I’m sure Iceland will be giving a fantastic show! Whether or not María should have kept it in Icelandic – I don’t think she should have. In English, the song has more power in English…I’m getting excited for the second semi-final now!

As we always do, the show was covered on our Twitter feed, and if you really, just can’t be assed to watch the entire show again, here’s a brief run-through of what went on tonight in Reykjavik:

The show was opened was opened by Pollapönk, who performed their Eurovision entry the way it was last year -in Icelandic, in the form of ‘Enga Fordóma’, which was interrupted by a Parade of Artists…and I cannot stress how camp Daniel from CADEM looked while he was coming down the catwalk.

We then moved onto the competition and CADEM. Now, these postcards always have something to do with them and with these, because the girls of the group are Swedish, they spent their time shopping in IKEA…The song though…is it just me, or do you think it was a lot stronger in Icelandic? I mean, it lost something when it went into English..oops.

Sunday followed next, and – I’m going to go against the tide here – I feel like it was a very strong performance, which really captivated you, if you were willing to let it do so. It was very haunting and enticing at the same time…my sorta thing, personally!

Björn og féletag….happened…and life went on as if nothing had happened. Sorry Björn, but it was just rather dull…a little too dull for my liking!

A trip to the green room soon followed, where – for the first time EVER – English was spoken!!!! However, in each of the trips to the green room, there was a lack of Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, who should have been there doing her sassy dancing….what happened, RÚV? You needed her!!!

María Ólafsdóttir soon followed with her postcard…and she was baking a cake…was this Söngvakeppnin or the Great Icelandic Bake Off? Luckily, her song and her vocals made up for the postcard, as she literally belted out her song ‘Unbroken’…it definitely made for a pleasant performance…I wonder if it would have been any good in Icelandic at Eurovision? Like I said above, probably not!

Elín Sif Halldórsdóttir was there, being as flexible as ever in her postcard..hmm…it was very much like Greta Mjöll’s performance last year…but sadly, the performance was just too weak to do well. I mean, the song is great, but it would just get lost in Vienna!

Friðrik Dór – I won’t lie – did look like the ambassador for the Reykjavík Globetrotters. His vocals were very good, but comparing it to the Icelandic version of the song, it wasn’t as strong enough as it would have been, in my opinion. But hey, the Icelandic Zac Efron was a nice listen anyway!

“Hae, where my homies minn at?”

Finally, Haukur Heidar Hauksson..what can I say about him…The song was okay, his vocals were okay…it was just an ‘okay’ performance! In Eurovision, it wouldn’t do well – I can tell you now.

At this point, we took a break and seriously, I’d love to go to Washington D.C. for 30,000 ISK, but I probably only have about 2,000 ISK to my name, so it wouldn’t be a good idea!

While the Icelandic public were voting as to who should go to the superfinal, we were “treated” to a rather weird interval clip, presented by a guy who really didn’t look like he wanted to be there…and it seemed as if he was obsessed with Luxembourg…like, what? It doesn’t even take part anymore!! This was quickly followed on with a medley of previous Söngvakeppnin participants who just so happened to finish in second place…and to be honest, I’m not sure why..I’m still confused..can someone tell me why?!! :p

The lines closed shortly afterwards and a combination of both the jury and the televoting decided that Friðrík Dor and María Ólafsdóttir should progress to the Superfinal…In the superfinal, the singers have to sing the song in the language they’d perform in Vienna…so there was no change whatsoever. After two great performances, it was the Icelandic public alone to decide that is was indeed María who should represent Iceland in Vienna…..after the show overran by about 20 minutes! Congratulations nonetheless!

So how will the song do in Eurovision? Well, luckily the song has been placed into the semi-final with the least amount of songs selected so far, so for now, it should stand out! I doubt that María would have any trouble qualifying from the final, what with her strong vocals and the very captivating performance! In the final, I’d say – she might come around the bottom left or top right-hand of the scoreboard? It’s a good position, if they get it! Best of luck to her! So what do you think of the selection?

Your views:

Was María the right choice for Iceland?

Frank Bischof from Germany: I am not so glad about this decision, Fridrik was a lot better. Maria’s song is a song you may forget once heard. Fridrik’s song is more to recognize and it has an own note.

Damien Pelsma from the United Kingdom: That was the better choice. I predict 15th place in the final for Iceland!

Svana Lístí Agnarsdóttir from Iceland: I’m happy with my country’s choice, but I would have preferred Sunday as our song – that is more of a personal preference though!

Mark Gallagher from Ireland: It’s a great choice! They have to get top 10 at least now!!

Well it seems that most fans are pretty happy with María being selected to go to Austria on Iceland’s behalf. But will she live up to everyone’s standards and come in the top 10 or in 15th, as Damian predicted? We’ll have to wait and see to find out. So what do you think? Are you happy that María was selected to represent Iceland in Vienna, or do you wish another competitor went instead? And how well do you think she will do? Feel free to tell us what you think by commenting below!